The benefits agency will reduce advance payments on a trial basis

The benefits agency will adjust advance payments when applying for benefits, such as rent, care, or childcare. The trial will begin in August for more than 12,000 benefit recipients. The agency will adjust the benefits itself, but only if it turns out that the data is no longer correct. This should prevent people from having to pay back large amounts.

Anyone who receives social benefits from the state through allowances receives these as a monthly advance. However, if someone works less or has a higher income than in other months, for example, the amount of the allowance changes. This often leads to unpleasant situations in which those affected have to pay money back to the state retrospectively. This system also led to the benefits scandal: People were falsely labeled as "fraudsters" and subsequently had to pay back large amounts of childcare allowance to which they were entitled.

To prevent such a reclaim, the benefits agency now wants to check whether it works if it makes adjustments itself. If an applicant has applied for too much aid, they will be notified. But "many people do not respond and do not adjust the advance," Toeslagen said in a press release. People who take part in the trial will receive a letter to this effect and can reverse the advance adjustment "at any time."

Toeslagen advises benefit recipients to inform the agency right away if their income changes, as this makes it easier to adjust the benefit. "We can often offset any excess allowance received against the allowance you already receive. This reduces the chance that you will receive an invoice after the end of the year," the agency states on its website.